This past week may go down as one of the most monumental and impactful for our community in recent years. Between the election, the buycott our Jewish Federation initiated and implemented in support of Trader Joe's carrying Israeli products, to what many are calling a pogrom in Amsterdam tha…
As you might've noticed, our Jewish Federation has increased our advocacy in and around our community over the last several years. Whether it was our fight against the renaming of a section of Crescenta Valley Park back in 2017, the development of a Comprehensive Community-wide Security Plan…
Anyone who has come to my office for a meeting or just to stop by and say hi might see me in my office chair. From where I sit (which is the title of my monthly JLife SGPV column), even though I sit inside my office with only an interior window, I get the opportunity to look out at and acros…
As the news broke last week of Yahya Sinwar being killed by the IDF, I experienced many emotions, as I'm sure many people did. Surprisingly, one of the thoughts that filtered into my brain was the idea of character. Thinking about one's character has been on my mind as I have come out of the…
What a whirlwind these last two weeks have been, from Rosh Hashanah and the start of 5785 to the one-year anniversary of the terrorist attack by Hamas on Israel on October 7 and this weekend’s Yom Kippur services. As I’ve shared, the start of this Jewish year is unlike anything we’ve e…
Commit to doing one extra Jewish “thing” in 5785
With 5785 beginning in just a few days (as I am writing this month's column), I have that "special" feeling I always seem to have at this time of year. For as long as I can remember, the days leading up to the High Holidays have alway…
Use this time to improve the world around you
In just over four weeks, we will gather together at local synagogues and around dining room tables to start this year‘s High Holy Days. Not since the mid-1940s, following the Holocaust and the establishment of the State of Israel, has a High…
Celebrating How Our Jewish Community Has Come Together
I have been a Jewish professional for over twenty years. During this time, I have seen several ebbs and flows—not only in how organizations have operated and been received by community members but also in how the professionals and…
Looking back prepares us for our future
have always supported “stopping to smell the roses” and taking es” time to reflect. I think this exercise has real power because instead of just going, going, going, one can appreciate what they have accomplished or experienced by stop…
Strengthening a child’s mental health at Jewish Summer Camp
I recently attendrecently attended a Mental ed Health ConsorHealth Consortium meeting coordinated by Congresswoman Grace Napolitano. Senator Alex Padilla was in attendance and was discussing the current mental health cri…
The importance of keeping the survivors’ stories alive
During my senior year of high school, I was selected to be a Holocaust docent for a Holocaust organization in the San Francisco Bay Area. As part of this program, I was trained to give presentations and talks to middle and high sc…
How Fiddler on the Roof made its way to the JFed Players’ Stage.
I’m not quite sure when I first remember watching Fiddler on the Roof or listening to the music of this iconic show. I remember singing it in choir, and it always being part of the ethos in my family. And yet, growin…
Our definition of affiliation is different than at any point in our collective history.
Do me a favor… stop reading this column for a moment and search online for Jews and humor and see what you find. (Go ahead… I'll wait 😊).
There are many theories as to why Jews are synony…
Navigate your future by studying history
One of the things that was instilled in me as I grew up was the importance of remembering…. the idea of memory and its impact on our lives. If you think about it, we are made up of more than just DNA but also our experiences and the people who have…
A New Year and Another Chance for a Fresh Start
As many of you know, I love movies. More accurately, I love specific points or lines in movies that are memorable and poignant in their message. In Forest Gump, there is a line that is often overlooked. When Forest Gump is celebrating New …
